1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to computer storage mediums and specifically to portable computer storage mediums.
2. Description of the Related Art
Portable storage mediums for computer systems may allow a user to carry data from one computer system to another computer system. Among other uses, portable storage mediums may allow a user to back up critical data from a computer hard drive. Portable storage mediums, such as floppy disks and compact discs (CDs), may allow data to be read and written to a moveable disk surface. However, many portable storage mediums have drawbacks. For example, floppy disks may be slow and hold under five megabytes of data. Compact discs may hold more data than a floppy disk, but they may be difficult to write to and generally may only be desirable for holding data that will not be modified (e.g., executable programs and archives).
Portable storage mediums may also be relatively large and easily damaged. For example dropping a floppy disk or scratching a CD surface may result in a loss of stored data. Other portable storage mediums, such as memory sticks, may use non-volatile memory, have moveable parts, and/or be easily damaged if dropped. Portable storage mediums may also be relatively slow to read and write to compared to a computer hard drive and random access memory (RAM). A portable storage medium may use non-volatile memory that generally requires power to maintain the memory. However, non-volatile memory may be significantly slower than volatile memory. Therefore, an improved portable memory device is desired.